Captain America #2

Review: Where the story arc is going becomes clear in this issue: the baddies have a way to manipulate people’s dreams—revealing this to be “inspired by” last years’ hit movie INCEPTION. Well, it isn’t the first time Marvel has been influenced by a recent pop culture event; the test is, what do they do with it? We’ll have to see, since as usual it’s moving along at a snail’s pace. The oddest factor is the presence of Ameridroid; this character hasn’t appeared since his creation in 1981—and now he’s suddenly in this story and CAPTAIN AMERICA CORPS? Two writers bringing back the same obscure character simultaneously? What, is Marvel planning to market an action figure or something? That aside, Brubaker and McNiven do an excellent job of showing that Cap is a super soldier, with some breathtaking action in the assault on the Hydra base. This is what we read Captain America for and they deliver.

Comments: Confirmed: Jimmy Jupiter is the same character from MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS issues #28 to 42 (a Timely comic from the 1940s), an odd choice for a modern Marvel mag.

Jimmy Jupiter was a Timely character with his own strip in Marvel Mystery Comics #28-48 and Human Torch #10. The only issue reprinted so far in Marvel Masterworks is HT#10. This issue describes Jimmy as having access to an other-dimensional space he called the Land of Nowhere. It is related to dreams, and he can use it go to the physical location of a dreamer. In the flashback he is going to use this ability to send agents to Zemo's Hydra base. Info on the Internet suggests that Jimmy could access many alternate spaces, only one of which was the Land of Nowhere. Indeed the only reprinted story shows him finding fairies in a wood, who seem to be in normal space. The idea of the Land connecting to dreams, and Jimmy being able to materialise next to a dreamer may be an invention of Ed Brubaker. It seems true that in some stories he does bring things back from his other-dimensional travels. Whether the flashback of Jimmy arriving home with a fairy girl is taken from any actual issue I don't know. But I would guess that she is the mystery Queen. On an unrelated note, I don't know what the opening 2-page scene of Captain America trudging through an endless icy wasteland is all about. I would guess neither does Peter, which may be why he didn't mention it.